Two million South African workers were set to stage a general strike on Thursday of this week, in support of 1.3 million public sector workers who have been striking for more than a fortnight.

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News

Does development cause inequality?

The floods in Pakistan have exposed the vulnerability and poverty that millions of people still live in.

Bradford: a disaster for racist ‘English Defence League’

The English Defence League’s "Big One" in Bradford last Saturday was an utter humiliation for the racist group.

Where next for the campaign to stop the EDL?

The EDL suffered a setback in Bradford. Its plans for a "summer of tension" have been frustrated.

Back the anti-cuts fight now in councils across the country

Kirklees Kirklees council workers in West Yorkshire are calling for full support for their march on Saturday 11 September.

Manchester college at Acas

Lecturers at Manchester College have called off planned strikes for talks at conciliation service Acas.

Lecturers' union discusses national strike

The national executive (higher education) of the lecturers’ UCU union was due to discuss national strike ballots this week.

Join Jerry Hicks's fight for Unite

The nomination period for the election for the general secretary of Unite, Britain’s biggest union, ended this week.

BBC ballot result due

The result of a strike ballot at the BBC was due this week.

Train managers in the RMT union at Eurostar have overwhelmingly voted for action against the imposition of "self-dispatch" of services from Paris next month. This is a function currently undertaken by platform staff.

Merseyside bus drivers strike for pay and respect

Bus drivers at Stagecoach Merseyside took hard-hitting strike action last week after rejecting a below-inflation pay offer.

Anger at report’s denial of cancer link at National Semiconductor factory

Workers at the National Semiconductor (NSUK) plant in Greenock, near Glasgow, believe toxic chemicals used in the production of silicon chips have raised the incidence of cancer among them.

Tory legislation to cut civil service workers’ redundancy payments

The Tories are trying to rush through legislation to cut civil service workers’ redundancy payments, clearing the way for mass job cuts.

Vote rejects NHS privatisation

Workers who transport patients between hospitals for South London Healthcare NHS Trust have voted to strike over plans to privatise their work.

Anger at pension attacks at Capita

Workers at Capita Life and Pensions are being balloted for strike action over changes to their pensions.

Lobby of Bolton council over cuts

Bolton Unison union called a lobby of the council for Wednesday of this week over plans to make £15 million worth of cuts.

Give bosses at Vi-Spring a restless night

Workers at bed manufacturer Vi-Spring in Plymouth are being balloted for strike action over the sacking of their GMB union shop steward.

Candlelit vigil for Mikey Powell

A vigil is taking place this Sunday 5 September in memory of Mikey Powell, organised by his family.

How the bosses are wrecking our pensions

Millions of workers will be forced to pay more into their pensions or face poverty in retirement, as reports this week revealed that bosses are planning cutbacks.

South Africa: Fury on the streets as action spreads

Open class struggle is raging in South Africa.

Private sector strikes take off in South Africa

Some 50,000 workers across the South African water industry walked out on strike on Monday of this week over pay.

Anti free school activists give Premier League a kicking

Campaigners against "free schools" held a lively protest on Tuesday of this week outside football’s Premier League in central London.

South Africa: The faultlines in the ANC’s alliance

The African National Congress (ANC) is the party of South Africa’s national liberation movement. It has governed since the end of apartheid.

Tories trash NHS Direct

Campaigners reacted with fury last week at Tory plans to scrap NHS Direct.

Asil Nadir: a new low for Tory sleaze

Disgraced Tory party donor Asil Nadir is back in Britain. He was the party’s largest individual donor during the 1980s.

Tories attack travellers

Planning rules that require local councils to make land provisions for traveller communities are to be revoked by the Tory government.

Another worker killed at Corus

A worker has been crushed to death in an incident involving a lorry at the Corus steel plant in Scunthorpe.

Police can't stop Notting Hill Carnival

The Notting Hill Carnival passed off peacefully. More than a million people attended, but the best the police could manage was fewer than 200 arrests.

Tom Behan has died

Socialist Worker is sad to announce the death of longstanding SWP member, author and Socialist Worker contributor Tom Behan.

Jobs and safety battle hits tube

AROUND 10,000 workers on London Underground are set to go into battle over jobs and safety when they strike for 24 hours from Monday of next week.

London firefighters pack into mass meetings and prepare to fight

Up to 1,500 firefighters packed into two electric mass meetings in London last week as they began their ballot for industrial action.

Protesters launch statement to reinstate route for October 3 demo outside Tory conference

A statement of protest against police changes to the route for the 3 October anti-cuts demonstration outside the Tory party conference has been launched by Birmingham Right to Work.

Mass strike continues in South Africa as workers reject new offer

The overwhelming majority of South Africa’s 1.3 million public sector workers have rejected the government’s latest pay offer as their strike enters its 15th day.

Join the protest at court to defend anti-fascist Martin Smith

Support is growing for Unite Against Fascism (UAF) officer Martin Smith who is due to appear in court on Tuesday of this week.

Protest at Blair's Tate Modern book launch party

Tony Blair today cancelled his book-signing event at Waterstone’s in central London, in fear that hundreds of protesters would wreck it. This followed a militant anti-war protest against a similar event in Dublin last Saturday.

Protest at court supports anti-fascist Martin Smith

More than 200 people crowded onto the pavement outside the magistrates court in south west London on Tuesday morning to support Martin Smith. Martin, who is a national officer of Unite Against fascism (UAF) and also national coordinator of Love Music Hate Racism, was arrested on the protest outside the BBC when BNP leader Nick Griffin appeared on Question Time.

International

The real scandal in Pakistan isn’t cricket

"It’s a national disaster," screamed the Pakistani press. "The shame that this has brought on the country is almost too much to bear," echoed the country’s top politicians.

Bosses' greed behind Chile's trapped miners

The Chilean government closed down the San José mine—where 33 miners are still trapped underground—in 2007 over health and safety failures.

Resisting cuts and racism in France

Millions of French workers, campaigners and pensioners are set to take part in two crucial days of resistance.

Comment

Bosses fear double dip or ‘Japanisation'

As politicians, bankers and bosses return from their holidays, they will find plenty of evidence that crucial parts of the global economy are on the slide.

Arts cuts are part of a bigger battle

The playwright Mark Ravenhill, who burst onto the theatre scene in the mid-90s with his provocative play Shopping and Fucking, stirred more controversy recently.

Features

Where are the workers in Labour’s leadership?

Members of the Labour Party are about to elect their new leader.

Black September

The events of Black September, which saw the slaughter of thousands of Palestinians, laid bare the treachery of the Arab rulers—and their refusal to use their power to help liberate Palestine.

From our Archive: Reporting Black September from Amman, Jordan

‘Jordan has seen one of the great national uprisings of modern times. The overwhelming majority of the population, led by the guerrilla organisations and the units of the popular militia, have fought to overthrow Hussein’s reactionary government.